STOCK MARKET NEWS AND ANALYSIS

Should You Buy China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (NYSE: SNP) On Account Of Its P/E Multiple?

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (NYSE: SNP), an energy company with a market capitalization of $114.0 billion, currently trades at a P/E multiple of 13.1x which is below the sector’s median multiple of 17.5x. Although this makes SNP look attractive, investors may change their mind after reviewing the assumptions behind the P/E ratio. In the post below, I explain how to apply P/E multiples and what to watch out for.

How To Utilize China Petroleum’s PE Multiples

A multiples valuation, also known as a comparable companies analysis, determines the value of a subject company by benchmarking the subject’s financial performance against companies deemed to be similar. We can then determine if a company is undervalued or overvalued relative to its peers by comparing metrics like growth, profit margin, and valuation multiples.

A P/E Ratio is a valuation metric that indicates the multiple of earnings investors are willing to pay for one share of a company:

P/E Ratio = Stock Price ÷ Earnings Per Share

The P/E ratio by itself is not very helpful at all. It is only useful when comparing it to other companies that are considered similar to the subject company. The basic idea is that companies with similar characteristics should trade at similar multiples, all other things being equal. Therefore, we can come to a conclusion about the stock if the ratios are different. In the chart below, I compare China Petroleum’s P/E ratio to its peer group that includes PetroChina Company Limited (NYSE: PTR), CNOOC Limited (NYSE: CEO), Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE: RDS.B) and Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM).

Since China Petroleum’s P/E ratio of 13.1x is lower than the median of its peers (39.8x), it means that investors are paying less than they should for each dollar of SNP’s earnings. As such, our analysis shows that SNP represents an undervalued stock. Furthermore, finbox.io’s P/E Ratio Model calculates a fair value of approximately $183.00 per share which implies roughly 79.0% upside.

I selected a fair multiple of 23.5x in my analysis by averaging China Petroleum’s current P/E ratio with its peer group.

The P/E Ratio’s Flaws

While this approach typically provides a reasonable valuation range, it is important to understand that our conclusion rests on some important assumptions. The first being that the selected peer group actually contains companies that truly are similar to China Petroleum. The second important assumption is that the selected peer group stocks are being fairly valued by the market.

If the assumptions above do not hold to be true, then the difference in P/E ratios could be due to a variety of factors. For example, if you accidentally compare China Petroleum with higher growth companies, then its P/E multiple would naturally be lower than its peers since investors reward high growth stocks with a higher price.

On the other hand, if the second assumption does not hold true, China Petroleum’s lower multiple may be because our selected comparable companies are being overvalued by the market.

What To Do Next

As a current investor, you may have already conducted fundamental analysis on the company and its stock so its current undervaluation could signal a potential buying opportunity to increase your position in SNP. But keep in mind the P/E ratio’s potential flaws when applying this valuation approach. It is important to note that there are a variety of other fundamental factors that I have not taken into consideration in this article. I highly recommend that you continue your research on China Petroleum by taking a look at the following:

Valuation Metrics: how much upside do shares of China Petroleum have based on Wall Street’s consensus price target? Take a look at our analyst upside data explorer that compares the company’s upside relative to its peers.

Risk Metrics: how is China Petroleum’s financial health? Find out by viewing our financial leverage data metric which plots the dollars in total assets for each dollar of common equity over time.

Efficiency Metrics: is management becoming more or less efficient over time? Find out by analyzing the company’s asset turnover ratio which measures the dollars in revenue a company generates per dollar of assets.

As of this writing, I did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities and this is not a buy or sell recommendation on any security mentioned.

Share this:

Expertise: financial modeling, mergers & acquisitions.
Andy is also a founder at finbox.io, where he’s focused on building tools that make it faster and easier for investors to do investment research. Andy’s background is in investment banking where he led the analysis on over 50 board advisory engagements involving mergers and acquisitions, fairness opinions and solvency opinions. Some of his board advisory highlights:
- Sears Holdings Corp.’s $620 mm spin-off via rights offering of Sears Outlet, Hometown Stores and Sears Hardware Stores.
- Cerberus Capital Management’s $3.3 bn acquisition of SUPERVALU Inc.’s New Albertsons, Inc. assets.
Andy can be reached at andy@finbox.io or at +1 (516) 778-6257.

About Us

UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU’RE INVESTING IN

The Bankers’ Tribune is owned and managed by Finbox Inc. Our goal is to inform stock market investors of notable activity on an unbiased, fundamental perspective.

finbox.com is a stock research platform that provides a quick sanity check to thousands of investors so that you can understand what you’re investing in and why, which is the best way to reduce risk, build confidence and increase returns.

CALENDAR

LATEST

DISCLAIMER

The opinions and content on this site are those of the contributing authors and not of the Bankers’ Tribune or Finbox Inc. The information should not be considered advice and it does not take into account your investment objectives, financial situation or needs. You should seek independent financial and legal advice to consider if an investment is appropriate for your personal circumstances.